Please take a moment and make a financial contribution to TheFunded. If we have helped you, help us with resources to further grow the both the site and our entrepreneur training program, The Founder Institute.

Vish was quick to respond and fixed up a time to interact. Never called up at the appointed time and the secretary mailed to indicate that he was busy. Then finally called after an hour only to say that he is running late for another meeting. Less than 10 min chat with no response later.

Met with this firm very recently and only have positive things to say. Our team was impressed with their team and their thoughtful approach to our presentation. They asked good questions and followed up with additional ones.

David Stern is very aggresively trying to build Clearstone's presense in seattle and the valley given their traditional LA focus. As a former entrepreneur, he's very understanding of the challenges that come with running a company. Good guy - absolutely always looking to help his companies. Very, very smart with regards to online advertising - probably one of the best thinkers in the VC space when it comes to online advertising.

Posted by
primefactor
on 2007-04-26

PUBLIC:

Clearstone is an excellent firm and I strongly recommend Peter Lee who is an associate there. He is an extremely sharp guy that understands business and technical aspects equally well. If your idea/company is really good and you are having hard time with 2nd tier VCs, approach him. He will get it and if he likes what you are doing, you will receive a lot of hlep and he will become your champion inside Clearstone. You will need that help as top tier firms like Clearstone get way too many pitches every day. Watch out for him, in a few years he will be one of the big names in VC world.

Clearstone is a refreshing firm to work with. They represents the best out of the idealab concept and have a team that is an ideal combination of experience and motivation to succeed. Unlike some Valley VC's, their egos have not outgrown their desire to be involved and be truly helpful. They are well balanced with presence inside the Valley, LA and India. I have been impressed with their extended network and outreach.

These guys are great to work with. They genuinely care about building great businesses and don't sweat the small stuff. Negotiation was concluded with a handshake over dinner and then sent to lawyers for processing. They are very entrepreneur-friendly, get to yes (or no) fast and believe that management is key.

Solid partnership with strong backing team of advisors and associates that provide real execution help for early-stage deals. Deep into Internet but doing enterprise software deals as well. Committed to building an ecosystem in Southern California but expanding activities in the Valley and India as well.

There is no question that Clearstone is a top tier fund in an under-served market. Word on the street is that they have been trying to close a new fund for too long, and the firm is facing solvency issues.

We pitched to Sumant, This guy has no technical clue, he kept asking boiler plate MBA school questions. Also no real world logic either. I wish he would have invited a technical guy along. Stay away on Semi-space from these guy's.

Posted by
naval
on 2007-03-22

PUBLIC:

Easy to work with, move quickly, believe in and back entrepreneurs. I go to Jim Armstrong *first* with any deals or funding requirements. Yes, they're not as branded, but in general branded VCs are very controlling.

Posted by
JamesMc
on 2008-07-03

PUBLIC:

Their associate Steven called me out of the blue and wanted me to go through our pitch (we're in online content). It wasn't the ideal situation to be pitching: over the phone, no notice, but I went with it. Steven seemed to have a good idea of the space and asked some good questions and gave some good feedback.

For frame of reference, in the past few weeks I completed a successful Series B funding process where we were able to meet all of our targets. While I came into Clearstone with an introduction, I had no prior relationship with the firm or its partners. I can say without reservation that of more than a dozen firms I met with, Clearstone was the best experience I had. Jim Armstrong was prompt, professional and direct from the first meeting. No games, no posturing - just a professional investor interested in entrepreneurs and entrepreneurial ideas. The team we interacted with, including Phil Ressler and Anil Patel, were absolutely top notch - I would look forward to working with folks like this over the long term. One of the best pitching and due diligence experiences I have ever had - I highly recommend Jim and Clearstone if you are pitching a big idea.

Posted by
jaybhatti
on 2007-10-28

PUBLIC:

The Clearstone team has a good combination of consumer internet balanced experience with business know-how.

David Stern is one of the most detailed and engaging VCs to work with. He takes the time to understand your business model and give proactive advice and introductions to the right people. He focues on the right issues.

William Quigley, given his deep experiences is really good at helping us think through strategic issues affecting the business. From business development to boardlevel decisions, William's experience and his mentality to do what's best for the company is really valuable.

Posted by
sv
on 2007-04-19

PUBLIC:

Clearstone and specifically William Quigley have been relentless supporters of my company. Clearstone thinks big and helps bolster early stage ideas into standalone businesses. I interact with a few of the portfolio companies and everyone feels the same way. Quigley is a great guy, deeply interested in the dynamics of the business and has seen just about everything before. This is important because he is the type of guy that just wants things on the table so they can be addressed. If you can get in I'd seriously consider going this direction.

Posted by
Max232
on 2007-03-24

PUBLIC:

Jim Armstrong gets behind big ideas and doesn't flinch when the going gets tough. It's been a pleasure to have him as my investor and board member. The extended team at Clearstone has been very generous with their time and relationships.

Bill Elkus has been very helpful to me in thinking through issues I face as a CEO of an early stage company. I particularly appreciate his sharing of thoughts on how different constiuents (investors, me as CEO, founders, employees) will view a situation versus having a narrow "investor" point of view. The broader team at Clearsotne has also been extremely helpful providing our company great connections to people and comapnies that have been helful.

Posted by
kickinit
on 2008-11-01

PUBLIC:

Really liked Sumant, helped we had a mutual and although meeting went well, initially found Steven a little arrogant and follow-up pitch to Dave, he was definitely arrogant. Still, pitches went really good. Didn't think we could pitch the product any better, alas, they took a pass.